Citigroup Cuts NIKE (NYSE:NKE) Price Target to $32.00

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) had its price objective decreased by Citigroup from $39.00 to $32.00 in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. Citigroup currently has a neutral rating on the footwear maker’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on NKE. CICC Research lowered their target price on shares of NIKE from $58.00 to $44.80 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. BTIG Research cut their price target on shares of NIKE from $55.00 to $50.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Morgan Stanley set a $27.00 price target on shares of NIKE and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $34.00 price objective (down from $42.00) on shares of NIKE in a research note on Friday. Finally, DZ Bank restated a “buy” rating on shares of NIKE in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Hold rating and eight have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $42.12.

NIKE Stock Performance

Shares of NKE opened at $33.88 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $38.88 and a 200 day moving average price of $42.79. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 2.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The company has a market capitalization of $50.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.09. NIKE has a 52-week low of $31.97 and a 52-week high of $74.78.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 1st. The footwear maker reported $0.48 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.43 by $0.05. NIKE had a net margin of 6.74% and a return on equity of 15.94%. The company had revenue of $11.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.32 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.49 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. NIKE has set its FY 2027 guidance at 1.150-1.350 EPS. Research analysts predict that NIKE will post 1.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NIKE Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st were issued a $0.41 dividend. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 1st. NIKE’s payout ratio is presently 78.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling at NIKE

In other NIKE news, CFO Matthew Friend sold 2,463 shares of NIKE stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.60, for a total value of $102,460.80. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 82,165 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,418,064. The trade was a 2.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Amy Montagne sold 4,867 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.05, for a total transaction of $204,657.35. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 57,436 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,415,183.80. The trade was a 7.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 14,974 shares of company stock worth $600,126 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NIKE

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Confluence Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of NIKE by 873.8% during the third quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 2,720,616 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $96,310,000 after buying an additional 2,441,233 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in NIKE by 8.5% during the 2nd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 106,883 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $4,388,000 after acquiring an additional 8,338 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. raised its stake in NIKE by 214.0% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 32,596 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $1,338,000 after acquiring an additional 22,215 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in NIKE by 98.4% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,202,581 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $90,416,000 after acquiring an additional 1,092,282 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its position in NIKE by 6.8% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 63,598,789 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $2,636,104,000 after acquiring an additional 4,052,428 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.25% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting NIKE

Here are the key news stories impacting NIKE this week:

• Positive Sentiment: NIKE reported fiscal Q1 EPS of $0.48, above the $0.43 analyst consensus. The company also retains a strong balance sheet, with approximately $8.4 billion in cash and short-term investments, while its dividend yield is approaching 5%. NIKE Posts Earnings Results
• Positive Sentiment: Some analysts see the selloff as an opportunity. Freedom Broker upgraded NKE from “sell” to “buy” with a $51 price target, while BTIG maintained a “buy” rating with a $50 target. Bernstein called the stock “de-risked” following the earnings release. Bernstein says Nike stock is de-risked
• Neutral Sentiment: NIKE is launching the Pace restructuring program, targeting approximately $2.5 billion in savings. Management said the plan is intended to simplify operations and support performance categories, but implementation will include further job cuts likely extending into 2027. NIKE fiscal 2027 first-quarter results
• Neutral Sentiment: The company’s dividend appears supported by its liquidity and history of 24 consecutive years of increases, although a higher yield also reflects the stock’s substantial decline and investors’ concerns about future earnings.
• Negative Sentiment: Fiscal Q1 revenue fell 4.3% year over year to $11.21 billion, below the $11.32 billion consensus estimate. Weakness in Greater China, Sportswear and Jordan continued to weigh on sales, while competition and changing consumer preferences are pressuring the brand. Nike plans more job cuts and forecasts revenue drop
• Negative Sentiment: Management expects fiscal 2027 revenue to decline by a high-single-digit percentage and provided EPS guidance of $1.15–$1.35, well below the roughly $1.66 analyst consensus. The outlook suggests Nike’s turnaround may take longer and be more costly than investors expected. Nike shares fall after weak outlook and layoffs
• Negative Sentiment: Several firms reduced price targets, including Citi to $32 and JPMorgan to $33, with neutral or underweight ratings. Zacks also placed NKE on its Strong Sell list, reinforcing concerns about margin pressure, China weakness and delayed recovery.

About NIKE

NIKE, Inc is a global sportswear company that designs, develops, markets and sells athletic footwear, apparel, equipment, accessories and related services. Its products are marketed under the NIKE, Jordan and Converse brands and are used across a broad range of sports and lifestyle activities, including running, basketball, football, training and outdoor pursuits.

The company distributes its products through a combination of wholesale partners, NIKE-owned retail stores and digital platforms.